The Sisterhood
Surrogacy is a unique and special journey, not just for the intended parents, but for the women privileged enough to carry a baby for someone else. It's an unusual thing to do, and most people don't understand why [...]
Egg Donation: Seeing Yourself In Someone Else’s Child
My partner and I are parents-through-IVF; survivors of infertility who inevitably became overbearing parents to our precious offspring. Archie was born after 7 embryo transfers, and he was our lucky last. Shortly after Archie’s second birthday, we conceived [...]
Do I need a Surrogacy Broker?
Surrogacy is bit like Project Management. In fact, by the time you’re home with your baby, you’ll feel like you deserve a PhD in international relations and event management. You did all that research, considered different Surrogacy Agencies, IVF [...]
Gift Giving in Altruistic Surrogacy Arrangements
Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Australia. Altruistic surrogacy arrangements are legal – that’s where the surrogate receives no material benefit, reward, payment or inducement in exchange for carrying a baby for someone else. One of the first questions [...]
Overseas Surrogacy
Do you need an Australian lawyer to assist you with your overseas surrogacy journey? The short answer is, mostly not. You can engage a lawyer in your destination country, who will guide you through the Surrogacy and Donor [...]
Applying for a Parentage Order
After a baby is born through an Australian surrogacy arrangement, a Parentage Order is required to transfer parentage from the surrogate and her partner to the intended parents. When the baby is born, the surrogate and her partner [...]
Parenting Orders and Parentage Orders
Parenting Orders are often made when parents are separated and need to formalise the arrangements for where the children will live and who they will spend time with. These are made in the family law courts. Parentage Orders [...]
Traditional Surrogacy
Traditional surrogacy is where a surrogate uses her own eggs to conceive, with sperm from an Intended Father or from a donor. It is different from gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate becomes pregnant with an embryo created with [...]
Surrogacy Laws in Australia
Are you exploring your options for growing your family through surrogacy? Below is an overview of Australian surrogacy laws as they stand today. Surrogacy in Australia is regulated in each State, which means there is no uniform law [...]
Altruistic Surrogacy: How Much Will it Cost?
Intended parents are always keen to know how much surrogacy will cost them. There are so many variables depending on individual circumstances, so it can be hard to give an exact answer to that question. Intended Parents should [...]
Written Surrogacy Agreements
Surrogacy arrangements can be written into formal Agreements between the surrogate and her partner, and the intended parents. Some states require surrogacy arrangements to have a written agreement, whilst other States do not require it but the parties [...]
Surrogacy in Australia – an Overview
Surrogacy within Australia is regulated in each State, which means there are no uniform laws that cover surrogacy across the country. Surrogacy laws in all States follow the same basic principles: The Intended Parents must not be able [...]
Hi! I’m Sarah Jefford. I’m a surrogacy, fertility and family lawyer. I’m also an IVF Mum, an egg donor and a traditional surrogate, and I delivered a baby for her Dads in 2018.
I promote positive, empowered altruistic surrogacy arrangements within Australia, and provide support and education to help intended parents make informed decisions when pursuing overseas surrogacy.
You can get in touch with me through the options below.
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